Just how unhealthy is our daily bread? Use your loaf and find out

12 million loaves are sold in the UK every day but many contain barely any nutrients. Here's how to use your loaf when buying bread

Almost every household in the UK regularly buys bread, but are you using your loaf when it comes to this popular product?

“Most of us mindlessly pick up a loaf of bread once or twice a week without really knowing what’s in it. We just assume it’s healthy,” says nutritionist Vicki Edgson.

But just as breakfast cereal has come under fire recently (the consumer watchdog Which? discovered some have more sugar than biscuits), bread is also a food most of us believe is fairly healthy when in fact it can be anything but.

“A large proportion of the bread we buy is bleached, blanched and nutrient stripped,” says Vicki. “It’s made from processed wheat and as well as containing salt and preservatives, some loaves also contain sugar.”

So why is this a problem? As well as the health implications of eating too much salt and sugar (especially the ‘hidden’ kind found in products like bread, pasta, ready meals and cooking sauces), experts also argue that the extra additives are causing bloating and other digestive problems.

Nearly three quarters of the bread we now eat has been made with extra yeast – this enables it to be baked more quickly and prolong its shelf life.

Food manufacturers make more profit this way, but at what cost? Digestive problems like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) are on the rise and one in five people in the UK claim they’re intolerant to bread.

“Even if they’re not fully intolerant, many people feel bloated after eating mass produced bread,” says Vicki, who always advises her clients to go for gluten-free bread.

She says gluten, which is used to ‘bind’ certain food products together – it’s also used to thicken up ketchup – is hard for the body to process and can cause IBS and even coeliac disease, a condition affecting the intestine with IBS-type symptoms such as bloating, constipation and diarrhoea.

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Best thing since sliced bread: We need to watch what we eat

“Try gluten-free bread for a week and see if it makes a difference to the flatness of your stomach and your energy levels,” advises Vicki.

But another problem is the sheer amount of bread we all eat each day and tuck into for each or most of our daily meals.

“Our bodies can easily break down and digest whole foods like chicken, fish, fruit and vegetables,” she says.

“But bread is processed and harder for our bodies to deal with. We were never supposed to eat so much bread, yet for many of us, it makes up the majority of our meals,” says Vicki

So what about wraps and pitta breads, surely they’re a healthier option?

“No, not really,” says nutritionist Carina Norris, author of You Are What You Eat (Virgin Books).

“They’re the same product designed differently – wraps are slightly lighter, but they still contain the same ingredients.

“Bagels are even heavier than bread. For some reason they have a reputation of being healthy but just one bagel equals three slices of bread, so they’re very calorific.”

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Helping hand: Buy heavier bread from local bakeries

So, what steps can you take to ensure that your daily bread is as healthy as possible?

Brown doesn’t always equal healthy

“It’s marginally healthier, but the overly processed ones still have a high glycemic index (GI), which causes surges in blood sugar, encouraging fat storage,” says Vicki.

Know your grains

The best bread to go for is made with whole-wheat flour. It contains the entire grain – bran, germ and endosperm – these are often stripped away during processing.

When you’re buying bread, always make sure ‘whole grain’ or ‘whole-wheat’ flour is the first ingredient on the list.

Bread made with ‘wheat flour’ doesn’t contain the whole grain, and bread made with ‘enriched wheat flour’ has been boosted with nutrients that are lost during processing.

“This is slightly better, but it still doesn’t contain the whole grain so it’s not as healthy as whole-wheat,” says Vicki.

Have it for breakfast or lunch

Many of us fall into the trap of having toast for breakfast then a sandwich for lunch.

Even the healthiest of breads can cause bloating if eaten too often, so limit yourself to one portion a day and have it for breakfast or lunch, but not both.

Have it with some protein

Carbohydrates are more quickly digested than protein or fat so they don’t keep you as full and can often leave you hungry an hour or two after eating them.

So never have a carb-only, or predominately carb meal.

If you’re having bread, always have some protein or a little fat alongside it to keep you fuller for longer.

If you have toast for breakfast, ditch the sugary jam and add some peanut butter, houmous or even a little sliced avocado.

As for your sandwiches, include plenty of protein. “Most sandwiches contain scrappy bits of chicken or ham,” says celebrity trainer James Duigan.

“But you should ensure you have a piece of protein the size of a deck of cards with your sandwich.”

Go for a low GI

Glycemic index (GI) ranks food on how it affects your blood sugar levels. High GI foods are typically very sugary and give you a blood sugar level spike, which then crashes and reduces your energy levels.

“Supermarket breads tend to be high GI, especially the white and processed loaves,” says Carina. “To reduce the GI level of your bread, go for a wholemeal loaf with nuts and seeds.”

Go local

“Years ago we all bought freshly baked bread from our local baker,” Vicki says. “Fresh bread doesn’t contain as many preservatives, sugar or salt as processed bread that’s pumped full of ingredients to make it last for as long as possible.

“On a similar note, fresh bread will go stale after a day or two. That’s a good sign because it means it contains few, if any, preservatives. So head to your local baker.”

Smell it

“The healthiest breads smell delicious,” says Vicki.

“The reason bread in a supermarket ‘smells’ nice is because the supermarkets pump out the smell of freshly baked bread in the bread aisle so you think you’re buying freshly-baked loaves.

“But you aren’t. Smell it at home, away from the supermarket, and you’ll actually find it smells quite bland.”

Could freezing bread be bad for you?

Freezing your bread is extremely convenient for many people who don’t always use a whole loaf at once, but some experts believe it can make it less good for you.